Dakota Louis Sweeps Both Rounds to Win in Winnipeg

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Sweeping both Round 1 and the short go, Dakota Louis (Browning, Montana) earned his first event win of the season Friday night at the Monster Energy Tour, presented by Mac’s and Circle K event at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The 25-year-old began the night riding Smash (Skori Bucking Bulls) for 85 points in Round 1, before covering Minion Stuart (Skori Bucking Bulls) for 87.5 points as the last rider in the championship round.

The bovine athlete, who hadn’t been ridden in his last three outs, was recently selected by PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert as one of the five Canadian bulls that will buck at this year’s PBR World Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada on Nov. 1-5.

The win marked Louis’ first title since June 2016 when he won the Touring Pro Division event in Belt, Montana.

Notching his second runner-up finish of the year, Lonnie West (Cadogan, Alberta) leaves Manitoba’s capital city $5,922.50 richer, having earned 50 world and 270 Canadian points.

In Round 1 the 21-year-old tied for second after making the 8 aboard Ulterra’s Counter Force (Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls) for 84.5 points.

In the short go West logged his high-marked ride of the season, covering Heaven’s Basement (Vold Rodeo/Prescott) for 87.5 points to split the round win with Louis.

West, who began the night No.14 in the Canadian national standings, rose four positions to No.10 compliments of the finish. He now trails No.1 Brock Radford (De Winton, Alberta) by 1,196.66.

Radford failed to earn any points in Winnipeg, bucking off Milky Chance (Flying Four Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 at the 4.31-second mark.

Zane Lambert (Westbourne, Manitoba) and Cody Casper (Pacific, Washington) tied for third after recording matching scores in both rounds.

The duo opened the night scoring 84.5 points aboard their first round draws. 2013 PBR Canada Champion Lambert became the first rider to cover All Gold Everything (Vold Rodeo/Prescott), while Casper made the 8 aboard Marshals Law (Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls).

For Lambert the finish allowed him to surpass Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) in the PBR Canada national standings, where he now finds himself ranked No.2, 529.16 behind No.1 Radford, as he looks to earn his second national title.

Coverchuk, much like Radford, also failed to earn any points in Winnipeg after bucking off Double Major (Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls) in 2.43 seconds in the first round.

Casper also climbed the rankings in the PBR Canada title race, surpassing Jordan Hansen (Okotoks, Alberta) and rising from No.5 to No.4 in the standings. He now trails the top spot by 722.50 points.

Todd Chotowetz (Major, Saskatchewan) rounded out the Top 5, earning $1,656, 15 world and 95 Canadian points.

The Saskatchewan rider was the final athlete to deliver a perfect 2-for-2 performance after covering Brick Wall (Vold Rodeo/Prescott) for 82 points in the first round, and Whiskey Hand (Vold Rodeo/Prescott) for 85.5 points in the short go.

First Buckle (Rafter 8 Bulls) was the high-marked bull of the event, earning a bull score of 44 points after dumping Armando Davila Rodriguez (Saltillo, Mexico) in 1.75 seconds in the championship round.

PBR Canada’s Monster Energy Tour, presented by Mac’s and Circle K next travels to Abbotsford, British Columbia and the Abbotsford Centre on Oct. 14 for the final regular season event of the year. Action gets underway at 7:30 p.m. PT. Tickets are still available at PBRCanada.com or Ticketmaster.ca.